Materials › PLA

Ratings are relative, 1-5, for a typical filament of this type. Start from your filament maker's recommended settings.

Commonly printed in PLA+

• Best pick

  Matte PLA

  Cosplay helmet or armor

  Big, visible, painted, and worn for a day.

• Best pick

  Matte PLA

  Desk organizer or pen holder

  Static, indoor, and looked at every day.

• Best pick

  PETG

  Garage hooks and shelf brackets

  Hold tools or boxes day in, day out, in a space that gets hot and cold.

• Best pick

  PETG

  Gears, hinges, and snap-fits

  Moving parts that flex, rub, and carry load.

• Best pick

  PLA-CF

  Jigs, fixtures, and stiff mounts

  Parts that must hold dimension and not flex under light load.

• Best pick

  Sparkle / Galaxy PLA

  Keychain or holiday ornament

  Small, decorative, and handled a lot.

• Best pick

  PLA+

  Phone or tablet stand

  A desk stand that gets bumped, plugged into, and carried around.

Other PLA types

• 

  PLA

  Standard PLA. Cheap, easy, and the right answer for most decorative and low-stress prints.

  • Display / decorative
  • Quick prototypes

  Nozzle 200-220 °CBed 55-60 °C

  Strength

  3 out of 53/5

  Heat

  1 out of 51/5

  Ease

  5 out of 55/5

• Rapid PLA

  PLA tuned to melt and flow quickly so high-speed printers can run fast without under-extruding.

  • Fast / bulk printing
  • Quick prototypes

  Nozzle 210-230 °CBed 55-65 °C

  Strength

  3 out of 53/5

  Heat

  1 out of 51/5

  Ease

  4 out of 54/5

• Rapid PLA+

  The speed of Rapid PLA with the toughening of PLA+. A strong choice for fast functional prints.

  • Fast / bulk printing
  • Functional parts

  Nozzle 215-235 °CBed 55-65 °C

  Strength

  4 out of 54/5

  Heat

  1 out of 51/5

  Ease

  4 out of 54/5

• Matte PLA

  PLA with a non-glossy, velvety finish that hides layer lines and fingerprints.

  • Display / decorative
  • Cosplay & props

  Nozzle 200-225 °CBed 55-65 °C

  Strength

  2 out of 52/5

  Heat

  1 out of 51/5

  Ease

  4 out of 54/5

• Silk PLA

  Shiny, pearlescent PLA with a metallic or satin sheen. Prints beautifully but is weaker than normal PLA.

  • Display / decorative
  • Cosplay & props

  Nozzle 215-230 °CBed 55-65 °C

  Strength

  2 out of 52/5

  Heat

  1 out of 51/5

  Ease

  3 out of 53/5

• Sparkle / Galaxy PLA

  PLA with fine glitter particles that catch the light. Easy to print and fun to look at.

  • Display / decorative
  • Cosplay & props

  Nozzle 200-225 °CBed 55-65 °C

  Strength

  3 out of 53/5

  Heat

  1 out of 51/5

  Ease

  4 out of 54/5

• Marble / Stone PLA

  PLA with a speckled, stone-like look. Easy to print and good at hiding layer lines.

  • Display / decorative
  • Cosplay & props

  Nozzle 200-225 °CBed 55-65 °C

  Strength

  3 out of 53/5

  Heat

  1 out of 51/5

  Ease

  4 out of 54/5

• 

  Wood PLA

  PLA blended with wood fibers for a warm, sandable, stainable look. Fussy to print.

  • Display / decorative
  • Cosplay & props

  Nozzle 190-215 °CBed 50-60 °C

  Strength

  2 out of 52/5

  Heat

  1 out of 51/5

  Ease

  2 out of 52/5

• Glow-in-the-dark PLA

  ! Home, with precautions

  PLA with glow pigment that charges in light and glows for hours. Great for fun, poor for strength.

  • Display / decorative

  Nozzle 200-220 °CBed 55-60 °C

  Strength

  2 out of 52/5

  Heat

  1 out of 51/5

  Ease

  3 out of 53/5

• PLA-CF

  ! Home, with precautions

  PLA filled with chopped carbon fiber. Very stiff, matte, and low-warp, but brittle and hard on nozzles.

  • Functional parts
  • Quick prototypes

  Nozzle 210-240 °CBed 50-65 °C

  Strength

  3 out of 53/5

  Heat

  2 out of 52/5

  Ease

  3 out of 53/5

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